Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Collins Curse is over (maybe?)! The Dodgers get their first non-NL West road sweep since June 2008, sweeping the sub-.500 Brewers. A 1-1 tie quickly got out of hand starting with a one-run fifth inning (Scott Podsednik single scores Brad Ausmus), a two-run sixth inning (with two outs, Free James Loney walks and Casey Blake powers a HR), and a three-run seventh inning (Kenley Jansen walks, which led to Ryan Theriot and Reed Johnson RBI singles, as well as a wild pitch while Matt Kemp was at the plate getting prepared to strike out).

Carlos Monasterios had a short 4.1 IP (2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR given up to Prince Fielder in the fourth), but a rested bullpen allowed Ronald Belisario, George Sherrill, Jansen, Octavio Dotel, and Jeff Weaver to all come in for scoreless, no-hit performances (Jansen gave up a walk but struck out four in 2.0 IP; Dotel struck out the side in the eighth). (Monasterios' two hits given up were, obviously, the Brewers' only two hits in the game.)

Separately, this PGT allows you to scoreboard watch the Diamondbacks at Padres game, which just started (Snakes lead 1-0 in the second). Go D’backs!

I wouldn't mind anyone on Heyman's list, primarily as I think managers have little impact on the outcome of games. Mattingly would be the best just out of name recognition, though Wallach would make sense from an organizational standpoint. It all depends if Torre wants to retire or go to another team, and if Mattingly follows him if he chooses the latter.

"The premise that Cy Young candidates should be judged on what their numbers should be, rather than what they actually are, is amusing. That thought process certainly would have altered the results in 1961 -- because I guess Roger Maris wasn't supposed to hit 61 homers. The Dodgers, I guess, should not have won the '88 World Series; Bucky Dent should have flied out to left. Lucky? Really? They did it."

I hate this and I don't know what to say. I hate everything. I hate the anti-stat bias. I hate the stat elitism and cynicism. I'm at work late and trying to work, but I feel like I have to respond to that.

I agree with Buster Olney, but I wonder who he's arguing against. Maybe you're criticizing people that go too far with fancy numbers, MR. LASF, and maybe I have no idea exactly what drama has been going on in the blogosphere, but are there "stat lickers" that would be willing to give out an award based on a stat like xFIP? Most reasonable people (even the stat licking inclined) would agree that you give awards based on actual performance. It seems like Buster Olney is making a scarecrow argument. I like reading about things like xFIP, but that doesn't automatically mean I'd give out an award based on it.

I think fancy stats are developed more to try and predict the future rather than reward the past (which is what awards do...). ie, xFIP is used to try to evaluate pitching on its own merit, minimizing the effects of chance and dependence on fielding. That way, you can try to figure out who's gotten a little lucky with their numbers (ie, given up line drives that happen to be hit right at fielders, given up a bunch of warning track fly balls that just miss being home runs).

It's probably not perfect but it's something that's developed because it's something that's being researched. Why do fancy stats have to be criticized? It's the people that mis-use them and give them more credit than they should be given.

They're just an attempt to create a better tool. They're not perfect, but they're in development. How is that something that needs to be belittled? I enjoy reading about these things. Yeah, people are stupid and learn about things without having a good sense perspective about it. That doesn't make the "thing" the thing that needs to be criticized. And as someone who enjoys reading about these things, I feel unfairly lumped into the "stat licker" category.

Part of the reason I migrated to SoSG is so I could avoid all of this inter-blogging bickering. I just want to enjoy baseball. And part of the reason I enjoy it is because I can appreciate it on multiple levels. The existence of things like xFIP don't necessarily mean one has to stop enjoying the actual game, like the magic of the Dodgers '88 season for example. I feel like on some level, I'm being accused of being less of a fan because I like these fancy numbers. That's what I find offending.

Hooray. I wasted close to a fucking hour pathetically trying to write something vaguely coherent when I could have been getting actual work done so I could go home and sleep at a reasonable hour so I could get to work at a reasonable hour so I could leave work tomorrow at a reasonable hour. Sigh.

@Mr F - We all like stats here. Me, Mr C, Dusty. But we, or at least I, have grown to lose a lot, if not all, respect for MOKM. So everything I say in respect to stats and mocking them is in fact me mocking MOKM. Please don't take it personally, it's nothing against you. It's just a petty feud I have with another blogger.

Exactly what MLASF said. The stats are a proxy for smug, self-aggrandizing bloggers who seem to have been bled of every ounce of enjoyment from the game and instead just wallow in loathing for the franchise and in statistics that may or may not actually mean a god damned thing. Your liking of and discussion about stats is more than welcome here - and in fact encouraged. We just enjoy the game itself above all else; certainly above trying to show mow much smarter we are than the GM or the manager.

Echoing what MLASF said. I'm not fond of the internecine bickering, but far as I'm concerned, a lot of the negativity floating around in the twitter-sphere simply stems from our mutual frustration a fans of a team that is having a less than stellar season. This, too, shall pass.

I would not say that I am enamored with Some of Coletti's decisions, but I've grown weary of reading doom-and-gloom prophecies on a daily basis. Hence, I hang out here and continue to enjoy baseball games, solve puzzles, and associate with other borrachos y deviantes just like myself.

I don't want to judge anyone for the way they enjoy a game that I love, but constant and abject misery ain't healthy, so I abstain.